A Family of their Own

Chapter 6--Hospitals!

Review responses:

HumanInfiltrator: Thank you. I'm trying to keep it realistic.

Reno's_Lover: I agree; young Naruto had a hard life.

Zigana: I'm trying to keep them all in character as much as possible, while
imagining what kind of situations may have occurred to chibi Naruto. Of
course, this is AU in the sense that Naruto never had a family of any kind
growing up, and had to work to be accepted by his teachers and classmates.

XZanayu: Kakashi actually had a good idea, setting Pakkun to guard Naruto.
Heheh.

lo: I'm glad you like it.

Nusku: No, sorry. Sasuke hasn't started at the academy yet, so they haven't
had the opportunity to meet.

Anise: Glad you liked Ch.4. About ch.5, people do all kinds of mean things to
those they think are weaker, as you no doubt are aware. What better way to
get rid of a bunch of cowards, than by setting a pack of viscious dogs loose
on them?

Now on with the fic!
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{a few months later}

Naruto was getting used to Kakashi spending the night. It wasn't an everyday
occurance, but the jounin did spend a lot of time at their place. Usually,
when the masked nin stayed for dinner, Naruto could count on waking to see him
asleep next to his guardian. He didn't understand why they slept together,
unless it was like with him, that they were just lonely and wanted someone to
cuddle with. Sometimes, he got lonely at night and crept into bed with them.
The warmth and nearness of their bodies made him feel safe and happy.

The copy-nin had eaten dinner with them last night, but when the little blond
woke up, Iruka was alone in his bed. The alarm went off, waking the chuunin.
He spied Naruto staring at him and wondered what the boy was thinking. He
didn't have long to wait.

"Awuka? Where 'Kashi? He not here." A cute pout formed on the whiskered
face.

Iruka smiled at the blue-eyed chibi. "Kakashi-san had to leave on a mission.
He'll be back, don't worry. Are you sorry he isn't here?" He gazed
quizzically at the boy. Did Naruto like having the older teen around?

"'Kashi fun. He like to do stuffs wit mes. You likes him, too. You smiles
more when he here."

Iruka laughed; he had to agree with Naruto. Kakashi did liven the place up.
He took the small child out to train with him, making it seem like a game. He
flirted with and teased Iruka often, trying to make him blush. Kakashi had
even admitted to that. Yes, the brunette liked the jounin; he treated Naruto
well, and he made Iruka happy. Their relationship hadn't progressed much;
kisses, the occasional dry hump, and once or twice a hand job was as far as it
went. Of course, it was nice to have someone to snuggle with at night, too.
If he were honest with himself, Iruka would admit that he missed the
silver-haired teen when he took overnight missions. "Naruto, do you miss
Kakashi when he's not here?" he asked curiously.

The child gave a look that was far too mature to come from one so young. "Dat
a dumb question! I just said dat!" The blond huffed and crossed his arms
over his narrow chest.

Iruka laughed and reached out to ruffle blond spikes. "Okay, okay. Well,
what do you say to some breakfast? Strawberry pancakes sound good?"

"Yatta! Let's go!" Naruto was off the bed and out the door in a flash.

Iruka chuckled as he followed.

~~~~

Kakashi hated these solo missions, especially ones as boring as this one had
turned out to be. The target hadn't even set a guard. He was now on his way
back to Konohagakure, and a certain doe-eyed chuunin. He let his mind wander,
imagining what he was going to do to Iruka once Naruto fell asleep.

Suddenly, a kunai whizzed past his head, and he dropped to the ground in a
defensive crouch. Lifting his forehead protector, Kakashi looked in direction
that the weapon had come from. He evaded the next throw, and threw a couple
of his own. Hands flashed through a series of seals as he cast a jutsu at his
opponent. The other nin dodged easily. Damn, he was jounin level; that first
attack was presumably to get his attention, not to kill him. Kakashi soon
found himself fighting for his life, using every trick he'd learned in the
last fourteen years since first becoming a genin. Finally, he got an opening
and finished off the enemy with a kunai to the chest. He stood, panting and
sweating, trying to clear his vision. The last thing he heard was a shout
before his world turned black, and he knew no more.

~~~~

Naruto was bored. Iruka was busy adjusting the stance of one of his students
and not paying the least bit attention to him. Today, they were learning to
throw kunai, and Iruka deemed him too small to learn. Naruto wandered over to
the gate and watched the villagers as they went about their business.
Movement caught his eye, and before he was aware of moving, he had gone to
follow.

~~~~

Iruka watched impassively as the student correctly took his stance and threw
the weapon. It hit the target with a resounding thud; the young sensei gave
an approving nod. He let his gaze travel across his other students. They
were all doing well. It was a few minutes later that it hit him; Naruto was
no longer in the schoolyard. Thinking the chibi had gone inside for some
reason, Iruka wasn't too worried. It wasn't until after they had returned to
class, and the blond wasn't there, that Iruka began to panic. He assigned
homework and dismissed his class. Now, he could search for his child.

~~~~

Naruto went in the direction he had seen the ninjas heading. Whispers of
'demon' and 'monster' followed in his wake, but he ignored them. What had
captured his interest was the silver hair of the one being carried by the
other two ninja. They were dressed funny, wearing masks to hide their faces,
but he'd know that hair anywhere. What was wrong with 'Kashi? He chewed his
bottom lip as he navigated between the buildings. He had lost sight of the
trio long ago, but thought he was still going in the right direction. It
wasn't until the men pushed him into an alley that he realized he was lost.

The push knocked him to the ground. The kick to the side brought tears to his
eyes. Laughter and calls of 'stupid demon' were the last things he heard as
the booted foot connected with his face.

~~~~

Iruka had searched the entire school, stopping teachers and students alike to
question them if they had seen the little blond. All he received in response
were negative replies. Naruto wouldn't... He knew better than to go anywhere
without Iruka, but it was slowly becoming obvious to the chuunin that, for
whatever reason, the boy had left the schoolgrounds. He could be ANYWHERE!
Iruka set off to look for him.

He questioned the villagers near the school. Those that didn't look at him
with disgust at his question, or ignore him completely, stated that the
'little monster' had been heading in the direction of Konoha's hospital. 'Why
would he go there?' Iruka wondered. He took to the rooftops in order to get a
better view.

Iruka had traversed the area several times without once spotting the bright
blond hair. He was desperate; the sun would be setting in another hour or so.
Shadows were beginning to blanket the village, making it harder to see between
the buildings, or to distinguish colors. He had enlarged his search area to
include out-of-the-way locations. Surely, Naruto hadn't come this far. Maybe
he should have enlisted others to help him look. Right now, he wished he was
able to summon nin-dogs like Kakashi; the search would go so much quicker.

He jumped down to street level to investigate a narrow alley he had never
noticed before. There was a pile of refuse lying in the middle. Walking up
to the pile, he was horrified to see it was a person, small, with
blood-streaked blond hair. Carefully, he turned the body over, breath
hitching. It WAS Naruto! Tears fell unheeded as he checked the little body
for signs of life. There was a faint heartbeat, and shallow breathing. Iruka
tenderly lifted the boy and took to the rooftops again, headed for the
hospital.

He was impatient. He had brought Naruto in an hour ago, and they had made him
sit in the waiting room. The blond was showing no sign of waking, although
the bleeding had stopped. Cradling the tiny body to his chest, Iruka stormed
up to the desk.

"You will see to his injuries, NOW! We've waited long enough! I'm not
leaving this spot until you do!" Iruka appeared ready to tear her head off.

The receptionist knew she could no longer put the man off. Summoning a nurse,
she had Iruka taken to an examination room. A doctor soon joined them,
looking tired and pissed off.

"What seems to be the problem? Oh, it's him." The doctor turned to leave,
but only managed to take two steps towards the door before being violently
slammed into a wall.

Iruka got right in the man's face. "You aren't going anywhere until you fix
him. You aren't going to do anything to further hurt him, either. Do I make
myself clear?" Iruka snarled.

Trembling with fear, all the doctor could do was nod. When the chuunin let
him go, he walked to the table and examined the little boy. He cleaned the
blood away and bandaged him up. Taking out a syringe, he filled it with
something from a vial.

Iruka grabbed his wrist before he could inject it."What is that?" The young
sensei looked at the vial; it was a general antibiotic. He released the man
and watched carefully as it was injected into Naruto's arm. He allowed the
doctor to leave afterwards. Iruka sat beside the bed and held the tiny hand,
willing the boy to wake. He fell asleep like that, head resting on the
mattress beside their entwined fingers.

~~~~

Kakashi awoke to sunshine streaming through the window. Looking around, he
noticed he was in the hospital. He tried to get out of bed, but between his
injuries and overuse of the Sharingan he was too weak. With a sigh he lay
back against his pillow, crossing his arms and pouting. If he was this weak,
how was he supposed to molest Iruka? Closing his eyes, he let his thoughts
drift to the brown-haired chuunin. Kakashi kept them closed even when the
door opened and two chattering nurses entered. He tried to ignore them until
one spoke about having to check on the monster. Instantly, his ears perked up
and he listened intently to what the two were saying.

"...chuunin order us around like that! You'd think the little demon was
someone important! If it had been me, I'd have killed him right then!"

"They said the doctor was threatened into treating him. Ninjas think they are
better than the rest of us, you know that."

"Well, they do protect the village... Oh, Hatake-san! How are you feeling
this morning?" The nurse smiled brightly at the copy-nin when she noticed he
was staring at them. Her smile faltered, though, when she saw the look on his
face. "Hatake-san? Are you all right?"

Kakashi was glaring at the nurses. "Where is he? Take me to him."

Confusion crossed their faces as they glanced from him, then to each other.
"Who? What are you talking about?" the second nurse asked.

"Naruto," he growled. "And if I hear you call him a monster again, you'll be
a patient yourself."

Both gulped audibly then the first tried to reason with Kakashi. "You are not
strong enough to be walking around, sir. You should stay in bed and rest. If
you want to go out later, I'll be more than happy to take you."

Kakashi threw the blankets off and tried to stand. He swayed for a moment
before his knees buckled and he sat down hard. Scowling, he ground out, "I
will see the boy now! If you don't get me a wheelchair, I'll crawl. Just
point me to him!"

The second nurse left to get the requested item while the first tried again to
reason with the jounin. "Hatake-san, wh-why would you want to see HIM? He's
nothing. Lay back down and take a nap, please. You'll feel better when you
wake up." She found herself on the floor with a pissed-off ninja laying on
top of her.

Panting from the exertion, Kakashi stated in a menacing voice, "That boy is
like a son to me. He's not 'nothing'. If you want to live, you'll refrain
from making any more disparaging remarks about him. Do you understand?! When
your friend comes back, you will take me to him. You will be polite and
respectful."

"H-Hai, Hatake-san. I'll be polite and respectful." The nurse was shaking in
fear. First, that chuunin and now the copy-nin! What was it about that boy
that made ninja so protective? She had heard that even the Hokage favored the
blond, but initially had discounted that as just a rumor. Now, she wasn't so
sure. Maybe she should be a little more open-minded. After all, the boy had
never DONE anything to hurt the village that she knew of. For now, she would
observe and withhold judgment. Her co-worker arrived then with the wheelchair
and the two assisted the young man into it. Then she wheeled him out the
door.

~~~~

Iruka woke up to a small hand running fingers through his hair. He opened his
eyes and smiled at the small blond gazing at him with big blue eyes. "Hi.
How are you feeling, Naruto-kun? What time is it, anyway?" He sat up and
looked around the room. From the position of the sun, it was late morning.
"Have you eaten yet?"

Naruto shook his head. "Nobody's come in. I's hungry, Awuka. When can we
leave?"

"The doctor should be in to discharge you soon. Then, we'll go get whatever
you want to eat. Does that sound good?"

"YAY!! When's he gonna get here? I ready to go now!"

Iruka chuckled and ruffled the boy's unruly hair. "I'll go see if he can come
now, okay? Stay right here; I'll be back." The chuunin stood and walked
toward the door. Before he reached it, however, it was pushed open. Iruka
gaped as Kakashi was wheeled into the room. "Wha...? Kakashi? What are you
doing here? Why are you in that chair?" The young sensei was flustered and a
light blush tinted his cheeks and nose a beautiful pink.

"'Kashi!" Iruka was knocked sideways and he stumbled before regaining his
balance. He looked over at the silver-haired jounin to see Naruto in his lap,
hugging the teen tightly. He couldn't help but smile at the picture they
made. Kakashi gently held the little boy, hugging back. Iruka glanced at the
nurse who had brought Kakashi here. She had a myriad of emotions crossing her
face, the primary one being confusion.

The nurse was in shock. The monster seemed happy to see the ninja, and more
confusing, he seemed to genuinely care for the blond. Maybe she had been
wrong all these years to allow the village's prejudices to influence her own
view of the child. He seemed like a normal little boy welcoming a beloved
family member. She remembered what the teen had said. Maybe they were
family, of sorts. She remembered hearing somewhere that the Yondaime had been
Kakashi's sensei until his demise, and the Yondaime had given his life to seal
the demon fox inside this boy. That might be why the jounin felt so
protective of the child. It was in remembrance of his teacher. Deciding that
that was the case, she allowed herself to smile at the scene. Yes, she would
withhold judgment and keep her eyes on this boy. There seemed to be something
special about him, and she couldn't wait to find out what it was.

~~~~

Naruto was released from the hospital by lunchtime, and Iruka took him to get
ramen from Ichiraku's. They brought some back to Kakashi who was going to
have to stay in the hospital for a while longer, until he had recovered more
of his chakra. They found him sitting in bed, fretting about having to stay.
Naruto climbed up next to the teen and presented the food, then snuggled up to
him and promptly fell asleep.

The two teens looked at the small child, grinning at his innocence. There was
no trace of the beating he had taken yesterday, for which Iruka was glad. He
hated the thought of having to explain to his boyfriend how he had let Naruto
get into such a situation in the first place. He pushed the guilt from his
mind, and fussed over Kakashi, encouraging him to eat and regain his strength.

~~~~

The nurse from earlier came in to check on her patient. She was a little startled to find, not only the jounin, but the chuunin and the blond boy sound asleep in the bed. They looked so sweet all cuddled up together that she didn't have the heart to wake them. She closed the door softly with a small smile as she left, unaware of the dark eye gazing at her.

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A/N: Been awhile, I know. No excuses, but please read and review.